Stone v The King

The High Court of Australia heard an appeal in *Stone v The King*, brought by the applicant, Mr Stone, against the respondent, The King. The dispute concerned the applicant's conviction for a serious criminal offence.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the trial judge had erred in law by failing to direct the jury on the defence of provocation, despite the defence not having been explicitly raised by the applicant at trial. This involved considering the circumstances in which a judge is obliged to leave a defence to the jury, even if not specifically requested by the defence.

Gageler and Edelman JJ held that a trial judge has a duty to direct a jury on a defence if there is some evidence that, if accepted, could be open to a jury to find that the elements of the defence are made out. Their Honours reasoned that the evidence presented at trial, when viewed in a light most favourable to the applicant, was capable of supporting a finding of provocation. Consequently, the failure to direct the jury on this defence constituted a material error of law.

The High Court allowed the appeal, quashed the conviction, and remitted the matter to the Supreme Court of New South Wales for a retrial.